Mangroves in the tropics, side event at UNFCCC COP23

Mangroves are one of the most carbon rich ecosystems storing around 1000 tonnes of carbon per hectare, which is up to five times more than carbon stored in terrestrial tropical forests. Mangrove ecosystems are essential for climate change adaptation and mitigation: if sustainably managed, they will increase the resilience of ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal inhabitants while storing globally significant amounts of carbon. 

However, mangrove forests are facing tremendous pressure from deforestation causing the increase of degraded area and further emissions of greenhouse gases. Globally mangroves cover an area of around 13.5 million hectares (FAO 2007) after losing almost half in the previous 50 years. There would be a number of possibilities for these ecosystems to be brought into the international arenas, including NDC, REDD+, and NAMA, where adaptation and mitigation measures can be implemented in synergy. This event will share lessons learned from mangrove management in the tropics and discuss key mitigation & adaptation attributes of mangroves to realize their potential in addressing Article 5 of the Paris Agreement as well as SDG 14 (‘life below water’) and SDG 15 (‘life on land’). 

Tentative programme: 

Opening Remarks: Mr Koji Makimoto, Deputy Director General, Forestry Agency, Japan 

Speakers: 

Prof Daniel Murdiyarso, Principal Scientist, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) 

Dr Nur Masripatin, Director General of Climate Change, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia 

Dr Yasumasa Hirata, Principal Research Director, REDD R&D Center, FFPRI, Japan 

Ms Cecile Bibiane Ndjebet, President, African Women's Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), Cameroon 

Mr Samuela Lagataki, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Forests, Fiji 

Mr Takahiro Morita, Group Director, Global Environment Department, JICA, Japan 

Closing Remarks: Dr Gerhard Dieterle, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) 

Moderator: Dr Hwan-ok Ma (ITTO)